Briquetting roll pockets



g- 1964 G. KOMAREK ETAL 3,

BRIQUETTING ROLL POCKETS Filed Aug. 15, 1963 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTORS GUSTAV KOMAREK KARL RICHARD KOMAREK ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofi ice 3,143,769 Patented Aug. 11, 1964 3,143,769 BRIQUETTING ROLL POCKETS Gustav Komarek and Karl R. Kornarek, Chicago, 111., assignors to Komarek-Greaves and Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 303,720 1 Claim. (CI. 1821) This invention generally concerns the shape and position of pockets formed on the rolls of briquetting machines; it more particularly relates to pockets arranged in angular position transversely across the width of the rolls.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 135,834, filed September 5, 1961, and now abandoned.

As is well known in the art, a pair of parallel cooperating rolls having corresponding or mating pockets or recesses formed on their surfaces, which receive the material, are employed in the production of conventional briquettes. A suitable motive means rotates the rolls in opposite directions and toward each other, as viewed from above. The material to be briquetted is introduced under pressure between the rotating rolls at the top from a hopper positioned above the rolls. This material is received within the mating pockets of the cooperating rolls where it is pressed into the shape of the pockets, and the finished briquettes finally discharged from the underside of the rolls.

Prior to this invention roll pockets were generally formed with their axes parallel with the axis of the roll shaft. In some instance adjacent pocekts in successive rows were all in line, and in other sucessive rows of pockets were staggered. Rolls employing the pocket structures of the prior art often set up vibrations which were harmful to the machine, particularly the bearings. This was caused by a pulsating efiect which occurred when a first transverse row of briquettes came into compressing position and were subsequently released. Such an arrange ment also called for a large amount of power which was required only intermittently. Thus, high roll speeds were not attainable, the machine was subject to a great amount of wear, and the briquettes produced were often of inferior quality.

In order to eliminate these difiiculties, the pocket structure of the present invention was devised. According to the present invention the configuration and arrangement of the pockets on the faces of the cooperating rolls are such that the pockets successively and progressively enter into their operative compressing position so that the briquettes are successively formed and the rolls are maintained under a substantially constant condition of load. By progressively compressing succeeding pockets instead of a whole transverse row of pockets at one time, stress vibrations are greatly decreased, the amount of material which is introduced to the rolls as they rotate remains essentially constant and the rolls operate smoothly under substantially constant load conditions. Thus a machine equipped with the roll structure of the present invention has been found to operate successfully at speeds greatly in excess of those which had been previously possible, and the briquettes thus formed are of superior quality to those produced heretofore.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved briquetting machine wherein a new arrangement of briquetting roll pockets provides briquettes of improved quality and improved operation of the briquetting machine.

A further object of the present invention relates to an improved briquetting machine wherein the configuration and arrangement of the pockets on the faces of cooperating briquetting rolls allows uniform feeding of the material thereto and increased roll operating speeds.

Another object of the present invention relates to an improved briquetting machine wherein a novel configuration and arrangement of briquetting pockets on the cooperating faces of the briquetting rolls is such that the pockets successively and progressively enter into operative compressing position so as to maintain the briquetting rolls under substantially constant load conditions.

Other anr further objects of this invention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following description, appended claim, and the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a pair of briquette rolls employing pockets of the shape and arrangement which comprise the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the preferred shape of pockets formed upon the surface of a briquette roll;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of a briquette roll, partially cut away, more clearly indicating the shape of one of the pockets; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of a modified pocket structure.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 1% indicates the preferred briquetting roll structure of the present invention. Each roll is generally cylindrical in shape and preferably forged, although, of course, it is to be understood that various other types of manufacture may be employed.

A pair of these rolls, as indicated at 12 and 14 in FIG- URE 1, are provided with parallel axes A spaced in such a manner that their respective faces 16 and 18 rollingly engage one another as at 20. A drive shaft 22 suitably coupled to a conventional source of power (not shown) drives the shafts 26 and 28 coupled to the rolls 12 and 14 through gearing 24. It is to be understood that the gearing 24 is illustrative only, and that any other appropriate means for drivingly connecting shafts 26 and 28 might be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention. This gearing serves to rotate the rolls in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows 30 and 32.

A plurality of circumferentially uniformly spaced pockets or recesses 34 are formed in the surfaces 16 and 18 of the briquetting rolls in successive parallel columns or rows. The pockets may be formed by milling or other suitable methods. Since the circumferential spacing between pockets in each circumferential row is uniform, and each circumferential row is substantially identical, the pitch P of each circumferential row, i.e. the circumferential distance between the centers of adjacent pockets in a circumferential row, will be the same. These pockets are of a partially cylindrical shape, as shown at 35 in FIGURE 3, each pocket having an axis of revolution as shown at 35 and 37 for the pockets 40 and 42, respectively, in FIGURE 2. The intersection of the pockets or recesses 34 with the surface of the roll is generally rectangular as indicated at 38, the longer sides thereof extending in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis 'of the roll. The other pair of opposed sides, the shorter sides in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 2, .will thus be seen to be substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rolls.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, each successive circumferential row of pockets is equally offset in a circumferential direction, i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the roll, from the preceding adjacent circumferential row so as to form a plurality of transverse rows of pockets extending laterally across the face of each roll. Each transverse row of pockets will be disposed at an angle to the axis of rotation A of the roll, as clearly shown by the line 46 passing through the centers of the pockets forming one such transverse row. The amount of offset between adjacent pockets in each transverse row is the same, and is determined by dividing the pitch P of a circumferential row, by the number of such circumferential rows on the roll. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein each roll is provided with five circumferential rows of pockets, the amount of oifset between adjacent pockets in each transverse row would be equal'to P/5. Thus the second pocket 42 of the transverse row indicated by the line 46, is offset in a circumferential direction from the first pocket 40 by a distance equal to one-fifth of the pitch P or P/S. Each succeeding pocket of the transverse row is likewise offset from the preceding adjacent pocket by a distance equal to P/5. It will also be apparent that the first pocket 60 in the next adjacent transverse row will becircumferentially offset from the last pocket 50in the preceding transverse row, indicated by the line 36, by. a distance equal to the offset between adjacent pockets in each transverse row. Thus in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 the pocket 60 would be circumferentially oifset from the pocket 50 by a distance equal to P/5.

In operation, the material to be briquetted is introduced to the rolls under pressure by means of a hopper (not shown) conventionally mounted above the rolls 12 and 14. This material is forced into the cooperating recesses 34'of the rotating rolls 12 and 14 and is compressed into the shape of the pocket upon rotation of the rolls. Continued rotation of the rolls releases the formed briquette from the bottom side of the rolls. The squared shape of the pockets, wherein the two opposed sides of each pocket which extend transversely of the face of the roll are substantially parallel to the roll axis, together with their offset arrangement produces operating characteristics which are vastly improved over those of'prior briquetting machines. The squared shape of the pockets of the present invention eliminates any occurrence of end thrust during rotation of the rolls. That is to say, all the forces involved in the briquetting operation are in a direction perpendicular to the axes of rotation of the rolls 12 and 14, and thereforehave no components which extend laterally or in a direction parallel to the axes of therolls. This construction not only greatly increases bearing life and reduces Wear in general on the machine used in the process of briquetting but also produces a cleanly configured briquette without the jagged or broken edge'portions frequently produced by prior art constructions.

The pockets or recesses 34 which are setoff as described also allow for uniform feeding of material into the engaging rolls 12' and 14. Since the setoff between the pockets is relatively small, the amount of material introduced to the rolls is maintained substantially constant across the respective faces 16 and 18 thereof. In addition, having the pockets setoif as shown and described, the rolls are subjected to a virtually constant load as they rotate to form briquettes avoiding the pulsating action which accompanied the use of briquetting rolls used heretofore. By means of the present invention, each briquette is successively and progressively compressed, with another following close behind. As one of a large number of pockets comes into operation, another pocket is withdrawing from the operation at the same time. This provides for a smooth operation which greatly increases bearing life and reduces wear on the rolls and on the briquetting machine as a whole. Furthermore by eliminating the pulsating load, characteristic of the prior art constructions, greatly increased roll speeds are possible, and thus increased briquetting producting can be attained.

Another form of the invention embodying the prin- 7 ciples previously enumerated is illustrated in FIGURE 4. In this modification, the pockets are also of rectangular 4 shape as in the embodiment of FIGURE 1, the axes of revolution for pockets 74 and 76 being indicated at 70 and 72 respectively. However in this instance, the longer sides of the pockets are generally parallel to the axis of the briquetting roll on which they are formed and the short sides, extending perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the roll are given a slight curvature as shown at 78. It should be clear that in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the sides of the pockets extending perpendicular to the axis of rotation, i.e., the long sides, maybe given a slight curvature similar to that indicated at 78 in FIGURE 4.

As in the embodiment described with respect to FIG- URES 1 and 2, the pocket structure shown in FIGURE 4 is formed such that the amount of offset between adjacent pockets 74 and 76 in successive rows is equal to the pitch P of a circumferential row, that is, the circumferential center to center distance between circumferentially adjacent pockets, divided by the number of circumferential rows of pockets formed on the surface of a roll. Such a design provides a briquetting roll with superior operating characteristics similar to those of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES land 2, and forms a briquette of somewhat different shape which has particular commercial value.

Accordingly, we have shown and described a new and improved briquetting roll employing an improved shape and arrangement of pockets formed on the surface thereof. The operation of briquetting rolls employed in our invention is much improved over those which have been used before this time. The feeding of the material between the rolls of the machine is uniform, and operation of the rolls does not result in a highly pulsating motion but rather in an extremely smooth operation which allows speeds of roll rotation much greater than were used heretofore.

While the invention has been shown and described in a specific form, this is not intended to be a limitation thereof, as other variations may be apparent to one skilled in the art, but is only to be limited by the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

A machine for compressing material into briquettes comprising: a pair of cooperating cylindrical roll members mounted for rotation in opposite directions about their respective axes; a plurality of circumferentially uniformly spaced generally rectangular shaped pockets I formed in the face of each roll member in successive parallel circumferential rows, two opposed sides of each of said rectangular shaped pockets being parallel to the axis of rotation of said roll member, each successive circumferential row equally offset in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said roll member from the preceding adjacent circumferential row so as to form transverse rows extending across the face of said roll member at an angle to the axis of rotation of said roll member, and wherein the offset between adjacent pockets in each transverse row is substantially equal to the circumferential distance between the centers of adjacent pockets in one of said circumferential rows divided by the number of said circumferential rows formed on said roll member such that pockets on one of said roll members successively and progressively enter into operative compressing alignment with the mating pockets on the other of said roll members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 533,488 Nirdlenger Feb. 5, 1895 538,475 Albrecht Apr. 30,1895 2,081,724 Abbott May 25, 1957 2,958,902 Dedser et a1 .7...... Nov. 8, 1960 

